upgrade or money back?

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KB

Guest
Since we made our final payment on our Princess Alaska cruise I have seen an outside cabin advertised for the price we paid for our inside cabin BUT it is for new bookings only or a flash special and Princess won't give us the upgrade. This is frustrating since I was told that cruise lines normally do give money back or upgrades and I know other cruise lines that do. Is this just a Princess thing? We have never sailed with Princess before. Right now I am disppointed with them and will think twice about booking with them in the future if this is how I am treated.
 
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Lorid

Guest
I posted a thread like this on cruise critic board because I had the same situation. I guess Princess is not very good about refunding money or giving ship credit if the price drops. There are alot of people angry, including myself, that Princess doesn't give us some sort of a break. I have my TA working on it, but it doesn't look like anything is going to happen.
 
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Frank Black

Guest
The same thing happened to me before my Star Princes cruise. But I had better luck I guess, and a great travel agent to press Princess.


I booked two inside rooms for the March 29th Star Princess many months ago. Two weeks before we sailed they lowered the prices on outside cabins to what I paid for an inside. They converted me to CAT BF (Balcony guaranteed) and I got back something like $20 too. One even converted to a CAT BB, aft cabin balcony.


Have your TA make some waves.
 
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PeabodyNVL

Guest
If the promotion says "new bookings only", then there may be a problem getting the refund or upgrade. Sometimes Princess will acquiesce, sometimes not. Right now, my price is at about what Princess dropped it to one week after final payment, so I am fine with that. This way, I get the same price and my agent still gets her commission. Remember, TAs normally give you a lower price in the first place. We are paying about $1000 base for our AA minisuite. Princess originally had it for $1099. It recently dropped to $999 through Princess with a "new booking only" promo. Since I know this is within the final payment and my agent is under no obligation to give me more of her commission back, I am not even going to bother asking since I called Princess and they said it was a "new bookings only" promo and wouldn't apply. On fares this low, they get little enough commission as it is. I'm not going to quibble for less the $100. Sometimes, I think TAs will give up their commissions if Princess doesn't lower from their end and their clients are pushing for it.

Pea
 
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kkorman

Guest
Refunds/upgrades vary by cruise line, with Princess not being very good about it once final payment is in. Look at like airfare... you got what you thought was good deal when you booked. No one complains about airfares, but they do cruises. How come?
 
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SpongeRob

Guest
There were several people who got upgrades on the Grand Princess, in fact, it seemed like EVERYONE we spoke to had received some kind of upgrade. We got bumped up twice, the second time just a few days before we left, and that was to Vista Suite D736 (awesome!). Don't grouse too much about last-minute price reductions - you might find yourself in much better digs because of it, particularly if you are a past passenger with Princess.
 
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stargazerm31

Guest
After final payment, most will not give you upgrades or lower prices. That is only before the final payment. This is all cruise lines and not just a princess thing.

The only time I have gotten around that is when I use a really good TA that has some clout with the cruise line, but that is luck and I don't count on it.

You are still on the ship, so have a great time.
 
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PeabodyNVL

Guest
After final payment, the tendency is too upgrade people who paid more in higher category cabins to open up more lower category cabins that sell better. These are complimentary upgrades, and usually have nothing to do with price drops. Of course, if a ship is full or the only cabins left after final payment are inside cabins, upgrades probably won't happen and prices won't drop.

Pea
 
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KB

Guest
I am taking back the bad things I said about Princess not giving upgrades since I just got notification that my inside guarantee is now a balcony at no extra charge! Thanks to my persistent TA :) Can't wait for Alaska on the Star Princess.
 
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Lady Jag

Guest
My friend has been upgraded with Princess 3 times that I know of so far. She has never asked for money back, but took upgrades instead:

1st time - from an inside guarantee to an aft balcony cabin
2nd time - from an inside guarantee to a balcony cabin
3rd time - from a mini-suite to a Penthouse Suite.

Her agent is an auto club agent and in my experience, they usually don't have a lot of clout or knowledge for that matter. I think in her case, she happened upon a really knowledgeable, persistent agent with good Princess rep. connections.
 
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